This invention relates to an articulated robotic serial mechanism.
Highly articulated snake-like robots may be formed from several concatenated segments having connection interfaces. Such “snake-bots” typically require many actuators to move the robot in a desired manner. These actuators may include motors that supply the force for moving the segments.
The distribution of the motors along the segments, provide an even weight distribution. However, because the motors form comparatively massive components, a plurality of actuators (especially motors) produces a heavy and slow robot that is inhibited from executing actions that require the robot to lift much of itself against gravity.
For snake-like arms, heavy actuators may be disposed at a base of the arm, with separate tendons or cables connected to each joint for transmitting forces. While such an arrangement facilitate lighter-weight arms, particularly for fixed structures, total weight considerations render them impractical for mobile robots. Examples of tendon-driven robot arms include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,593,907, 6,413,229 and 6,432,112, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.